


(Baby, We'll) Make This Work

by baeconandeggs, tinkersoo



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: BAE2017, M/M, age gap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-11-03 12:00:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10966785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinkersoo/pseuds/tinkersoo
Summary: Baekhyun didn’t think it would be this easy to fall in love.





	(Baby, We'll) Make This Work

**Author's Note:**

> Author: anonymous  
> Prompt#: 192  
> Title: (baby we’ll) make this work  
> Word Count: 6,359 words  
> Side Pairing(s): N/A  
> Rating: PG-13  
> Warning(s):Age gap (7 years)  
> Disclaimer: The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> Author's Note: Dear prompter, I’m sorry I couldn’t churn out something better, but I hope this is to your liking. Thank you to the mods who have been so amazingly patient and kind. This fic is very self-indulgent but I still tried my best! Please enjoy <3

  
  


/ / /

  
  
The digital clock on top of his study desk blinks an ominously red 02.37 AM, or at least that’s what Baekhyun thinks it reads. After running through four chapters of Math, all numbers seem to look the same. Words, too.  
  
It _has_ been quite a few hours since he subjected himself to this torture. He hadn’t moved apart from the occasional shifts, and he can feel it now, in the protesting creaks of his joints when he stretches.  
  
He closes the book with a thump, indulging himself in a swirl of his chair and a small whoop. The book is pushed to the side along with his exam notes and scrap papers.  
  
On the full-length window glass in front of the desk, there are post-its of the formulas he pored on throughout the night, messily pasted along with other sticky notes. That’s how it always looks like nearing exam week. As he scans through it one more time before he really moves on from Math, Baekhyun grudgingly finds that he quite likes it.  
  
He finished lot earlier than expected. With Math out of the way, he is left with an ample amount of time. He could sleep if he wants to, but he doesn’t really feel like it. Pre-exam weeks always leave him too anxious to sleep anyway.  
  
Sighing, he eyes the dark blue of his history textbook and brings it to the center of the table. A head start on history doesn’t sound so bad.  
  
Halfway through the first chapter, he hears the door to the study room slide open and almost expects the warm arms that wrap around his waist soon after. He hums, pleased, naturally leaning to snuggle closer to the source of heat.  
  
When he is turned around to face the perpetrator, he finds himself smiling dopily. Chanyeol just has that effect on everyone. He is freshly showered, hair still damp and a towel draped on his shoulder. He looks like a wet puppy, with the way he has to look up to Baekhyun because he is kneeling on the floor.  
  
“Welcome home,” Baekhyun greets, before leaning down to plant a kiss on the corner of Chanyeol’s lips. He lets Chanyeol chase his lips, laughing when Chanyeol growls in frustration.  
  
“C’mon,” he whines. “I didn’t brush my teeth to get that.”  
  
“Oh?” Baekhyun lifts an eyebrow. “What were you planning to get exactly?”  
  
This time, when Chanyeol leans in, Baekhyun reciprocates, lets Chanyeol lick into his mouth and kiss him until his toes curl from giddiness. He can’t believe that Chanyeol still has this effect on him after all this time.  
  
Chanyeol pulls away first to plant sloppy kisses all over Baekhyun’s face. When Baekhyun is sure his face is covered in enough of Chanyeol’s cooties, he lets out an indignant squawk and pushes Chanyeol away. Undeterred, Chanyeol leans in to plant one last smack on his lips, smiling in that toothy way Baekhyun isn’t sure he finds stupid or endearing. Probably both.  
  
“Let’s go to bed?” Chanyeol suggests, though he is already pulling Baekhyun’s glasses off his face and turning off the study lamp.  
  
Baekhyun shrugs, eyeing his history textbook with little remorse. It can wait until tomorrow. “After you dry your hair.”  
  


/ / /

  
  
1.  
  
There is a bustle around the corridor, and Baekhyun whirls just in time to find someone who could only be his groom appearing from around the corner.  
  
Baekhyun had read his name on the invitation over and over, but that didn’t prepare him for anything else. He had been too stubborn to look him up on the internet, but maybe he should’ve, if that could’ve made him feel less like he is going to hurl from anxiety.  
  
Park Chanyeol seems to have spotted him as well, pausing in the middle of straightening his tie to simply stare. His eyebrows are furrowed, eyes sharp and intense, but his mouth has a natural pout to it that softens his face. Maybe he is handsome, or maybe Baekhyun is so out of his mind that he is completely reconstructing his groom’s features.  
  
Baekhyun doesn’t quite know what to say. He doesn’t even know what to _think_. The gravity of the situation suddenly catches up to him. He is getting married. To someone he doesn’t know _at all_. He swallows the bile rising up his throat.  
  
“Hi,” he croaks for a lack of better thing to say. If there is a protocol to dealing with a husband you only just met, Baekhyun knows completely nothing about it.  
  
“Hello, Baekhyun-ssi,” Park Chanyeol replies with a small smile. His voice is low and husky. Baekhyun thinks that he’s surprisingly… pleasant, so far.  
  
“Yeah, hi,” he stutters, a beat late.  
  
“Sorry I wasn’t present on the rehearsal,” Chanyeol says. He offers a hand. “I’m Park Chanyeol. I don’t mind just Chanyeol.”  
  
“I’m Baekhyun.” Baekhyun hurries to reciprocate the handshake. He is almost embarrassed to find that Chanyeol’s hand is also cold, and just slightly damp. Clearly, Chanyeol is nervous about this, too. It makes him feel a little bit better about himself. “And it’s fine. I think all we have to do is walk.”  
  
Chanyeol shakes his hand once and lets go. “I’ll trust you to lead me then.”  
  
Baekhyun finally braves himself to look up, up, up at Park Chanyeol, who he realizes is terribly tall. And is _actually_ handsome up-close. At least Chanyeol doesn’t seem to be twice his age. “Sure.”  
  


/ / /

  
  
118.  
  
“Where are you going?”  
  
Baekhyun squeezes his eyes shut with a silent groan. Of course Chanyeol, who is usually out like light until noon at least, would wake up at six in the morning the only day Baekhyun didn’t want him to.  
  
He clears his throat and refuses to look at the lump of blanket that is a sleepy Chanyeol. “School.”  
  
“But you’re sick?” Chanyeol croaks from the bed, sounding like a sick man himself.  
  
“I got better overnight,” Baekhyun lies, even when he can feel his breath coming out warm and his cheeks are burning. He stuffs the last of his papers inside his backpack and makes to his way to the door in big strides.  
  
“Baekhyun-ah, come here for a sec.” From his peripheral view, Baekhyun sees Chanyeol sitting up and rubbing his eyes. God, if he doesn’t hurry now he will never make it to school.  
  
“Sorry, I’m running a little late right now, I’ll see you after school. Bye!” He forces out in a rush, opening the door and quickly closing it behind him.  
  
As usual, things don’t go his way, because the bedroom door opens just as he is trying to force his left foot into a shoe.  
  
Baekhyun pointedly doesn’t make it clear that he is aware of Chanyeol’s presence, just continues to wrestle with his shoe until his foot is in. With a triumphant smile, he turns. “Bye, Chan—”  
  
Baekhyun yelps when he is pulled into Chanyeol’s very much naked chest. He slaps it incredulously, because Chanyeol is being weird, but also because his chest is _right there_.  
  
Chanyeol’s smirk is playful and very much infuriating when Baekhyun has to crane his head all the way up to gape at him. “What?”  
  
“Where is my goodbye kiss?”  
  
If his cheeks aren’t already a blotchy red from the fever, Baekhyun is sure that they are now. Damn Chanyeol and his constant tendency to catch Baekhyun off guard.  
  
While they have shared chaste kisses on the cheeks and forehead the past few weeks, Baekhyun is still a lot hesitant to be the one initiating (though he _did_ kiss Chanyeol first. It was an accident). Usually it’s Chanyeol pecking him hellos and goodbyes and whenever he feels like it. He always seem so casual doing it that Baekhyun always feel stupid to be making a big deal out of it.  
  
“My goodbye kiss, Baekhyunnie,” Chanyeol whines like the five-year-old child he definitely _isn’t_ , and Baekhyun sighs like the mature man he is. At least Chanyeol is not keeping him from going to school.  
  
Standing on his tippy toes, Baekhyun plants an exaggerated smooch on Chanyeol’s left cheek and makes to pull away. Before he could, Chanyeol wraps an arm around his middle and pulls Baekhyun flush against his front in a move that has Baekhyun scrambling for support. His hands end up on Chanyeol’s shoulders, squeezing hard.  
  
“What are you doing?” Baekhyun might have squeaked, but all the words die down on his throat when Chanyeol’s other hand comes to cup his nape gently.  
  
Like this, Chanyeol’s face is so, so close that Baekhyun could count the freckles on his cheeks. He has a lot of them. And a pimple smack in the middle of it.  
  
Chanyeol leans in closer and Baekhyun doesn’t want to pull a Kyungsoo and curse, but _fuck_ , they’re going to kiss. Baekhyun is going to have his first kiss with Park Chanyeol, his husband of three months, in the entryway and right by the shoe shelf. It doesn’t sound like it’d make for a romantic story, but Baekhyun really doesn’t mind.  
  
He squeezes his eyes shut when Chanyeol’s hand moves from his nape to brush his bangs up and away from his forehead before cradling the back of his head now. When Chanyeol’s forehead touches his own, Baekhyun shudders slightly at the coolness of it.  
  
“You’re burning, stupid,” Chanyeol whispers, bumping their foreheads together before pulling away, just slightly. He still has an arm around Baekhyun. “I’ll call your school.”  
  
“What,” Baekhyun sputters.  
  
Chanyeol chuckles, leaning in another time to plant a long kiss on his forehead before pulling away for good.  
  
“What the hell,” Baekhyun spits, but it just sounds whiny to his ears. With Chanyeol no longer wrapped around him, he feels a little cold. His head feels light, probably from the earlier rush of adrenaline, but it could be the fever.  
  
“C’mon. I’ll make porridge.”  
  
Baekhyun slips out of his shoes much easier than he got into it, and maybe it’s a good idea to stay at home today.  
  
He drags his socked feet past Chanyeol and across the living room to faceplant to the couch.  
  
“I want tea,” he grumbles.  
  
“Whatever you want, Baekhyunnie,” Chanyeol sing-songs with a chuckle.  
  
Baekhyun pretends his heart didn’t flutter.  
  


/ / /

  
  
35.  
  
Baekhyun rubs his eyes tiredly.  
  
It’s barely three, but already he is having troubles with keeping his eyes open. He must be losing his touch.  
  
He flips the page and covers his eyes. “Nineteenth century. The economy around this time is lead by—”  
  
“Baekhyun?”  
  
Baekhyun removes his hands and blinks his eyes open. “Yes?” He turns in his wheely chair to face Chanyeol. Chanyeol looks a little worse for wear even in his button-up and slacks. He has been coming home at the crack of dawn a lot these days. Baekhyun thinks it might be about a new album, but he wouldn’t know for sure. He never asked, only caught bits and pieces from Chanyeol’s calls.  
  
“You’re not sleeping?” Chanyeol shifts to lean against the door panel, undoing his cuffs and unbuttoning the first few buttons of his shirt. Baekhyun blames it on his half-asleep state when that looks attractive as hell.  
  
Baekhyun didn’t realize that he has been staring until Chanyeol makes to walk closer.  
  
“You look awfully tired,” Baekhyun states, pretending that he wasn’t eyeing Chanyeol just a few seconds ago.  
  
Chanyeol fixes an inquiring stare at him. “So do you.”  
  
“I was studying,” Baekhyun reasons. “ _Am_ studying, I mean. Exam tomorrow. Uh, today.”  
  
Groaning sympathetically, Chanyeol cranes his neck over him to look over the notes he had been trying to memorize. “I forgot what it’s like to be at school.”  
  
The jab on their age gap always irks him, but even more so today. “It’s not even that long ago,” Baekhyun says crankily, before clamping his mouth shut.  
  
“Only seven years, yeah,” Chanyeol humors him, his eyes kind. “I sucked at history.”  
  
Baekhyun doesn’t say anything in reply, feeling embarrassed at his little outburst. Chanyeol didn’t deserve to be the brunt of it.  
  
“You want me to quiz you on this?”  
  
He turns to look at Chanyeol so fast that his neck cricks. “You would do that?” He asks with almost too much enthusiasm, before looking down sheepishly. “I mean, you don’t have to. It’s late. You’re probably very tired. I wouldn’t want to—”  
  
“You’re rambling, Baekhyunnie.”  
  
Baekhyun freezes at the way the nickname sounds so easy coming from Chanyeol. Chanyeol looks like he isn’t even aware that Baekhyun’s heart just skipped a beat, flipping through Baekhyun’s notes with a purse of his lips.  
  
“I think if we start now, we could tuck in before five,” Chanyeol says, turning to look at Baekhyun. “Should we start? Or do you want to review a bit more?”  
  
Baekhyun shakes his head. “We could start now. If you—only if you don’t mind, really. I’m serious.”  
  
“I really don’t mind. This is fun.” With a shrug, Chanyeol makes to sit on the bean bag beside the desk. “So, tell me what you know about the Joseon Dynasty.”  
  
An exhale, and Baekhyun starts. It’s easier to have someone to yap to.  
  
Chanyeol goes to sleep at six in the morning with a whisper of good luck, and Baekhyun prepares for school.  
  
He aced his test.  
  


/ / /

  
  
76.  
  
“I thought I should at least do something as your… uhh… husband. I mean, it’s your birthday.” Chanyeol says, uncharacteristically fidgety.  
  
Baekhyun just continues to stare at the array of food on the dining table. He has been privileged to Chanyeol’s cooking every now and then, but not so often, and never this much at once. In the middle of the spread, there is a small fruit cake, his favorite. Baekhyun’s heart feels full to bursting at the thoughtfulness of it all.  
  
He tackles Chanyeol, who accepts his abrupt action a little clumsily, bumping his back on the wall. Chanyeol doesn’t say anything at first, just hugs him back. “Happy birthday, Baekhyunnie. Do you like it?”  
  
“Yes, I do.” Without thinking too much of it, Baekhyun rises on his tiptoes to plant a small peck on Chanyeol’s cheek. “Thank you.”  
  
When he pulls away, Chanyeol looks a little stunned, and Baekhyun’s smile falls a little. “I’m sorry. It’s just. A habit. I used to do it a lot with Kyungsoo, and. I was just so… it doesn’t have to mean anything—”  
  
Chanyeol shushes him by palming his face all over like a mother would wash a child’s face. Baekhyun sputters, indignant.  
  
“What’s that for?” Baekhyun grumbles his way to the dining table.  
  
“Let’s eat,” Chanyeol says instead of answering, sitting across him. He suddenly narrows his eyes. “And I hope you stopped kissing Kyungsoo.”  
  


/ / /

  
  
171.  
  
_Pictures of CY Ent’s CEO Park Chanyeol and girl group member Sehee on a car date has been circulating around the web. It is reported that they have been dating for just shy of two months now.  
  
Acquaintances of the two have said that the two have been close since last year, and although they admitted of not knowing for sure of the nature of their current relationship, that “Chanyeol and Sehee had a relationship that could bloom into something more”.  
  
Park Chanyeol, who is the main producer for everyone under his label, is said to have fallen for Sehee in between company dinners.  
  
Sehee is known for her jolly character in—_  
  
Baekhyun closes his laptop, not knowing what to make of the heaviness in his chest. The news is probably bull, but he blames his tiredness for the ugly green in his mind.  
  
He tries to go back to abnormal cell divisions, but it makes little sense. He goes back to the top of the page and tries reading it again. The front door beeps open just as he is turning to the next page. Closing his textbook, Baekhyun cranes his head towards the entryway.  
  
Chanyeol appears looking awful. It reminds Baekhyun of the day he helped him review for his History exam. That seemed like ages ago.  
  
“Welcome home,” Baekhyun greets, and Chanyeol jolts like was shocked. _Like he was caught red-handed_ , his mind unhelpfully supplies. Baekhyun tries to chase the negative thoughts away, but it doesn’t seem to want to go.  
  
“Baekhyunnie,” Chanyeol calls with a tired smile. “You’re still awake.”  
  
Even like this, Baekhyun’s heart still has the nerve to flutter. Baekhyun doesn’t want to know what that entails. “You haven’t been home for three days.”  
  
“I texted you, right? We’re completely redoing an album that was supposed to be released next week. It’s a mess,” Chanyeol says with a half-chuckle, half-yawn.  
  
“Yeah?” Baekhyun clears his throat. “Is it an album for Sehee?”  
  
Chanyeol’s smile falls completely at that. “You saw?”  
  
And it’s the apprehensiveness in his words, the abrupt change in his expression, and the way he didn’t answer his question that Baekhyun had been scared to see.  
  
“Why? Am I not supposed to?” He says, sounding angry even to himself.  
  
“You do know that it’s not true, right,” Chanyeol says, staring straight at him, but Baekhyun looks away. “Baekhyun. Look at—”  
  
“Forget it,” Baekhyun says, turning his back on Chanyeol to open his textbook, even when he knows it is pointless.  
  
He wouldn’t be able to comprehend a thing, but it’s better than being angry at Chanyeol, who is not even at fault. Better than being angry at himself, for being angry at Chanyeol.  
  
They are just a couple forged from an unpublicized arranged marriage. This is bound to happen. Chanyeol has a lot of people around him that would love to be by his side. Baekhyun shouldn’t even _be_ angry. He shouldn’t even _care_.  
  
There is a heavy sigh, and Baekhyun hears Chanyeol making his way over. He plops to seat across him, but Baekhyun doesn’t budge.  
  
“You’re upset,” Chanyeol says—states. And it only serves to make Baekhyun more upset, because he doesn’t want to admit it, but he is so angry, and sad, disappointed. A swirl of negativity raging inside him. His chest aches from it.  
  
“I’m not. It’s not like there is anything to be upset of,” Baekhyun says bitterly. “I just forgot that you are as stuck in this marriage as I am.”  
  
It is quiet for a moment before Chanyeol raises a hand to cup his chin until he is staring at Chanyeol’s crumpled expression. Baekhyun can’t look away. “What do you mean?”  
  
Baekhyun swallows. “I mean,” he says. “Just because we kiss from time to time doesn’t mean—”  
  
“But I mean it,” Chanyeol cuts him off. “I mean everything I said to you. Every single kiss. I thought you felt the same.”  
  
Baekhyun falters when his heart stutters. “Don’t make this about me,” he forces himself to say. “I’m not the one _cheating_.” There. He said it.  
  
Later, Baekhyun would allow himself to regret painting that expression on Chanyeol’s face, but right now, he just selfishly wants to make Chanyeol hurt even half as much as he is.  
  
“I’m not cheating,” Chanyeol says fiercely. “And you would know that, if you had even a little faith in me.”  
  
“And I told you that I wouldn’t mind if you did.” Baekhyun pushes Chanyeol’s hand away. “It’s not about that. I just—be careful. If you keep on making it to the news our parents wouldn’t be too ha—”  
  
Chanyeol makes a frustrated noise. “You’re being difficult.”  
  
“Difficult?” Baekhyun is raising his voice now, and he doesn’t care. “Well you’re _married_ and _stuck_ to this difficult high school kid until the day you divorce me!”  
  
“I wouldn’t _divorce_ you!”  
  
“Well, maybe you should!” Baekhyun shouts, before standing up and swiping his phone off the table. His legs are weak and tingly from sitting too long, but Baekhyun ignores it and marches the best he can to the front door.  
  
Chanyeol stops him with a hand wrapped around his wrist. In a way, he was expecting it. Hoping for it, maybe. But right now, he should go. “It’s four in the morning. Where do you think you are going?”  
  
“Kyungsoo’s,” Baekhyun grunts, breaking away from Chanyeol’s grip. It’s almost easy, like Chanyeol doesn’t really want him to stay.  
  
“What,” Chanyeol spits. “So that he could kiss you better?”  
  
Baekhyun stops halfway through jamming his feet into a random pair of slippers to stare at Chanyeol in stunned disbelief. “Yes!” He yells, clamping his mouth shut when his voice breaks in the middle of it. A tense pause hangs between them, and Baekhyun turns away before it becomes too much. He slams the door close.  
  
The tears come, hot as they make their way down his face in big fat drops.  
  
Baekhyun dials a number he knows by heart.  
  


/ / /

  
  
282.  
  
Baekhyun frowns at the clock as it ticks past midnight, and then turns to the unmoving door to frown some more. He sighs and gets up to drag his feet to the dining room, movement slow and lethargic as he packs the food to tupperwares. The dumplings are from Chanyeol’s favorite Chinese restaurant, but he had cooked the kimchi jjigae himself. Or attempted to. Whatever, he will be the one eating it anyway. There is no way he is serving Chanyeol reheated food. It will never taste the same.  
  
The door beeps open just as Baekhyun is washing the last bowl. He quickly finishes up and wipes his hands on the apron before dashing to the entryway.  
  
Chanyeol is removing his shoes when Baekhyun sees him. Uncaring, Baekhyun launches himself to Chanyeol, laughing when Chanyeol yelps in surprise, but still manages to catch him anyway.  
  
They pull away to stare at each other, and it is Baekhyun who breaks it, smiling dopily to say, “Welcome home.”  
  
Chanyeol groans, letting Baekhyun go to loosen his tie. “Thanks. I needed that.”  
  
Baekhyun leans against the wall and stares on.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asks as he shrugs off his suit, dragging the vowels out. “Ah, were you cooking?”  
  
“No,” Baekhyun hums. “I was doing the dishes.”  
  
“So you cooked.” Chanyeol makes his way to the living room, sniffing like a puppy. “It doesn’t smell like ramyeon.”  
  
Baekhyun crinkles his nose. “You think that’s the only thing I can cook?”  
  
“Isn’t it?” Chanyeol teases. “It smells good though. Kimchi jjigae?”  
  
“Yeah.” Baekhyun plops himself horizontally on the couch, kicking Chanyeol away when he tries to make Baekhyun scoot. Relenting, Chanyeol makes to seat in the smaller couch, but not without a pinch to Baekhyun’s tummy.  
  
“Was it nice?” Chanyeol says after a while.  
  
“What?” Baekhyun’s reply is muffled against the couch, his eyes feeling heavy now that he is lying down.  
  
“The kimchi jjigae,” Chanyeol answers patiently. “You should cook for me sometime.”  
  
Baekhyun gets up abruptly to narrow his eyes at Chanyeol. Chanyeol looks confused as Baekhyun crosses the small distance between their couches to crawl into his lap, but he shifts accommodatingly.  
  
“Happy birthday,” he says against Chanyeol’s neck. “I cooked for you, but you didn’t come home, stupid.”  
  
“Oh,” Chanyeol says stupidly. “God, I’m sorry. I didn’t even know what date it is today.”  
  
“It’s past midnight. Your day is gone and your meal gone with it. I’m never cooking for you again,” Baekhyun mumbles lazily, in the verge of falling asleep. Chanyeol’s lap is proving to be very comfortable.  
  
“Sorryyy,” Chanyeol whines. “But still, you should’ve left some for me. I wanna try it.”  
  
“Didn’t eat. ‘s in the fridge. Don’t eat.” Baekhyun gives up on talking.  
  
“Baekhyun.” He hears, but it takes way too much effort to reply, so he just snuggles closer to the source of heat.  
  
“Yah, Byun Baekhyun.” Baekhyun whines when Chanyeol shakes under him.  
  
“Okay, okay. I give up. Sleep on me. Brat.”  
  
Baekhyun does.  
  
When he wakes up in the morning, Chanyeol is not in bed, but he _is_ in the dining room, eating his birthday meal while watching the morning news. He looks so cute that Baekhyun can feel his heart stir. He leans against the doorframe and shakes his head until Chanyeol spots him.  
  
“Hey, sleepyhead,” Chanyeol calls with a smug smile on his face.  
  
_Hey, you’re dumb but I love you_ , Baekhyun wants to say. Soon. For now, Baekhyun takes the seat across Chanyeol and smiles prettily. “Get a plate for me?”  
  


/ / /

  
  
172.  
  
“He’s here, right?” Chanyeol gets out in a rush, not caring about the way he is tripping all over his consonants and vowels.  
  
In front of him, Kyungsoo fixes him with a wide-eyed stare, looking far too awake for five in the morning. “Yeah,” he says after a hesitant pause.  
  
Chanyeol exhales, his shoulders feeling like lead now that the tension has bled away to relief. “That’s good,” he says. “Is he sleeping?”  
  
“Yeah,” Kyungsoo repeats. “He hasn’t been sleeping well this past few days.”  
  
“That’d be my fault.” Chanyeol chuckles, running a hand along his hair. “I wonder why you haven’t told me to go away yet. I was expecting another door slammed to my face.”  
  
Kyungsoo is silent for a moment, but then he is saying, “I’m sure Baekhyun knows that you’re not wrong, either. He just needs time. He is… trying to figure things out.”  
  
“I know what you mean,” Chanyeol says with a small smile.  
  
It is silent between them. Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything back, just keeps on staring at Chanyeol like he knows Chanyeol still has more to say. And he does, but not here, not now, and not to Kyungsoo.  
  
“I’m glad he has you as a friend,” Chanyeol says as genuinely as he can. “Please tell him that I’ll be waiting. For him. Whenever he is ready.”  
  
Kyungsoo finally cracks a small smile. “I will.”  
  


/ / /

  
  
200.  
  
“Are you sure this is okay?” Baekhyun whisper-yells through his mask, staring at the black blob that should be Chanyeol, though it looks more like a moving trash bag. Wearing a sunglasses in the middle of the night is probably not one of his best ideas, but so is walking hand in hand with Park Chanyeol. Former idol, current CEO of CY Ent, and the nation’s heartthrob Park Chanyeol. If that is not the perfect example of a bad idea, Baekhyun doesn’t know what is.  
  
Hongdae at night is positively bustling with people. It makes him grow more and more anxious each passing second. “I think you should wait here,” Baekhyun says when they pass by a stretch of closed shops. “I’ll go buy your ddeokbokki real quick, and then we can go—”  
  
Chanyeol’s amused laugh echoes in the relatively empty street. Dropping his jaw in horror, Baekhyun shushes him vehemently. “What the hell? Do you want to get caught?”  
  
The heat on his cheeks betray his show of half-hearted struggling when Chanyeol puts his arms around him. “Relax, will you?” He says. “If you just remove your sunglasses no one will look our way.”  
  
Baekhyun holds them to his face in defense. “What’s wrong with them?”  
  
“No one wears them at night, Baekhyunnie,” Chanyeol says before removing them and slipping them in the inner pocket of his padded jacket. He turns to look at Baekhyun, and with a wink, says, “Pretty eyes you’ve got there, cutie.”  
  
Baekhyun stomps on his foot and walks past a writhing Chanyeol to shake his head. “You’re impossible,” he breathes out.  
  
When Chanyeol finally catches up to link their arms together and whine right into his ears, Baekhyun belatedly realizes that he is smiling.  
  


/ / /

  
  
175.  
  
Baekhyun comes back home to a dark living room.  
  
The air conditioner is on, which is so uncharacteristic of Chanyeol, who is always the one nagging him for not turning off the bathroom lights after showering.  
  
It’s freezing, and Baekhyun shivers when his feet touches cold wood. He can’t remember where he left his slippers when he stormed out of the house a few days ago. They’re probably in the living room, lying under the couch and waiting for Baekhyun to complain about his missing slippers and for Chanyeol to flatten himself against the floor and find them.  
  
Baekhyun is stopped in his tracks when he sees a lump on the couch, swathed in two thick blankets and snoring softly. He can’t help the smile from forming, facial muscles working against his will to show just how endeared he is by this man.  
  
Slowly, he pads closer to the source of his emotional ups and downs. He halts right by the couch, shifting to sit at the floor and carefully resting his arms at the edges of the couch.  
  
Baekhyun stares. Even in his sleep, Chanyeol looks absolutely breath-taking, or maybe it’s just the few days Baekhyun hadn’t spent looking at him. His mind is already retracing the hazy details of Chanyeol’s lashes, the healing scar on his right cheek, the mosquito bite on his temple.  
  
It’s been a miserable past few days, and Baekhyun doesn’t know if he should be happy or sad that just having Chanyeol right in front of him right now is already becoming the best part of the week. The constricting wrap around his heart unfurls, and Baekhyun breathes easier.  
  
Unable to stop himself, Baekhyun lifts a finger to trace a line right down the slope of Chanyeol’s nose. He watches as Chanyeol’s eyes twitch, then flutter open to stare at him blearily.  
  
Baekhyun looks on silently as Chanyeol blinks, then shuffles to get up, supporting himself on an elbow. He runs a hand along his hair and rubs on his eyes. All the while, their eyes remain connected.  
  
“You’re back,” Chanyeol croaks, turning away to cough. Baekhyun frowns, but hands him a bottle from his bag. Chanyeol accepts it wordlessly, finally sitting down properly to drink.  
  
“Are you sick?” Baekhyun asks, this time pulling out a hoodie. Chanyeol’s hoodie. He had been wearing it the day he fled. “This is why you should sleep with clothes on,” Baekhyun nags, turning the sleeves inside out and getting up on his knees to slip the hoodie over Chanyeol’s head. He pauses when Chanyeol falls forward to rest his head at the crook of his neck. He’s warm. The contrast in temperature has Baekhyun shivering slightly, but at least Chanyeol is not burning.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol mumbles against the skin of his shoulder. “Not for cheating, because I’m—”  
  
“I know,” Baekhyun hurriedly cuts him off. “That’s just me being difficult. I—”  
  
“Please let me finish,” Chanyeol breathes, and Baekhyun clamps his mouth shut when he feels the dampness on his neck. His heart smarts, and Baekhyun tightens his hold on the hoodie.  
  
“I wanted to say this for so long. Every day, every night, I repeat it over and over again so that when you come back I can say it to you without being afraid that you’ll run off in the middle of it.” There is a quiver in Chanyeol’s breath, and Baekhyun tries his best to remain still on his knees, supporting Chanyeol’s weight on his shoulder even when his heart is trembling from the rawness of Chanyeol’s voice.  
  
“I’m sorry for the news. I hope you know it’s not true, because it’s not. She has a boyfriend, if that makes you feel better,” Chanyeol says, then takes a deep breath. He pulls away, and Baekhyun thought he is done, because it’s enough. It’s more than enough.  
  
Chanyeol doesn’t have to explain anything when it’s Baekhyun who needs to get on his right mind and tell him what made him run, because it’s definitely not because of some stupid news. But Chanyeol stares at him through teary eyes and says, all in one breath, “I’m sorry for calling you difficult. And I’m sorry for letting you run off. I wasn’t sure of what I wanted, what I _want_. And I’m even more unsure of what _you_ want. But I’m sure now. I’ve never been so sure my whole life. The bed feels empty without you, the house even more so, and I think I’ll go crazy if you leave me for one more day. I want this. I want you. Beside me. Always. Please never leave me again.”  
  
And Baekhyun bursts into tears because his heart feels so full. He clambers to Chanyeol’s lap and Chanyeol lets him, holds him close to his chest while he cries. When he pulls away after a while, Chanyeol is looking at him with a small smile on his face. There are tears on his face, but he doesn’t look sad.  
  
“Are you cold?” Chanyeol murmurs, pulling the second blanket under Baekhyun to wrap him with it before even hearing Baekhyun’s answer. Baekhyun doesn’t protest, though he pushes the hoodie that somehow manages to get tangled between them to Chanyeol’s chest. Chanyeol pulls them on without complaint.  
  
“I like you,” Baekhyun says as soon as Chanyeol’s face pops out from the hoodie. “And I’m sorry that I was afraid, before, but now I’m not. I want this. You. If you’d have me back,” he says earnestly.  
  
Chanyeol’s stunned expression melts into something softer, more fond. “I said it earlier, and I’d say it a thousand more times if you want me to. I want you. I like you.”  
  
Baekhyun slaps his chest. It doesn’t have quite the same effect when Chanyeol is wearing clothes. “You’re a sap, but I like you, too.”  
  
The giggle that comes out from Chanyeol’s mouth is dopy and way too cute for a twenty-seven year old. The fondness in his eyes is a bit too much for Baekhyun to handle. But Baekhyun can’t say he hates it. “I really, really like you.”  
  
He thinks he might need medication from the way his heart keeps on threatening to pop out of his chest. “I really, really like you, too.”  
  


/ / /

  
  
0.  
  


We, a pair of youth who met under the beautiful name of fate, are going to tie a pledge of eternal love. We would be thankful if you could come to give us blessings of happiness and joy.

Park Chanyeol.

Byun Baekhyun.

/ / /

  
  
_I’m downstairs_. The message reads. Baekhyun smiles giddily as he stares at his phone. Between his recent admission to the university and Chanyeol’s work, they haven’t been able to go out on their late-night dates for quite some time.  
  
Their rendezvous outings used to make Baekhyun feel anxious, but now he is just excited to spend time with Chanyeol outside their apartment. Cuddling in the couch and snuggling in bed never gets old, but it’s nice to be out once in awhile.  
  
Baekhyun fixes his hair in the mirror one last time before grabbing his coat and making his way to the door. He spent a little more time on his outfit today, carefully choosing a pair of washed jeans that Chanyeol once said looks good on him, and the off white turtleneck they bought together in their last date. He shrugs his coat on in the elevator and smooths it down.  
  
When he comes out of their apartment building, Chanyeol is leaning against his car, pocketing his phone as soon as he spots Baekhyun.  
  
“Hey, handsome,” he says with a wink, and it is a testament to how deep Baekhyun has fallen when he finds that absolutely adorable.  
  
“Hey yourself,” he replies, foregoing the wink to tackle Chanyeol in a hug. Chanyeol complies, enveloping him inside his opened padded jacket and rocking them side to side.  
  
“How was your day, no-longer-a-high-school-student?” Chanyeol teases, burying his face in Baekhyun’s hair.  
  
“Day’s good, old man,” Baekhyun quips right back. “How’s yours?”  
  
“Not an old man,” Chanyeol whines. “But I don’t know how my day will go. It’s only just started.”  
  
Baekhyun makes a face and pulls back to make sure that Chanyeol sees it. He does, and he laughs before kissing Baekhyun on the nose. Baekhyun’s heart skips a beat because for a split second he thought Chanyeol had been going for something else. He _wished_ Chanyeol had been going for something else.  
  
“If I promise to accept your bad, cheesy jokes for the rest of my life.” Baekhyun gulps. “Will you kiss me?”  
  
For a second, Chanyeol looks stunned, but he presses his lips in a determined line and shifts to pull Baekhyun closer. “If I do,” he murmurs, his eyes lingering on Baekhyun’s lips before sweeping up to catch his gaze. “Will you kiss me back?”  
  
Baekhyun locks his arms around Chanyeol’s neck, not looking away. He nods once, then whispers, “Yes.”  
  
They have shared tons of kisses. In the forehead during lazy Sunday mornings, playful kisses on the nose and cheek, tender kisses on the temple, neck nuzzles before sleep, but nothing will ever prepare Baekhyun for this.  
  
The weather is chill, but Chanyeol is as warm as ever, and so is Baekhyun’s heart. Chanyeol looks ethereal, with the halo from the streetlight behind him. He looks like everything Baekhyun has dreamt of and more. So much more. Baekhyun wonders if Chanyeol thinks the same, because Baekhyun wouldn’t have it any other way.  
  
When Chanyeol leans down, Baekhyun tiptoes to meet him halfway. They kiss, just a simple press of the lips, and it’s perfect.  
  
Later, they’ll have time for more, but for now, Baekhyun pulls away to just stare at Chanyeol. There is so much adoration in his eyes. “I love you,” Baekhyun says, because it’s true.  
  
Chanyeol beams at him, glows. “You are sweeping the credits to all our firsts,” he accuses, but his tone is fond. “But I love you, too. So so so much.”  
  
Baekhyun rises on his tiptoes to kiss him again, and Chanyeol bends down so that he is no longer tiptoeing, pulling him close. Chanyeol’s mouth is as soft and warm as he is, and when Baekhyun licks into it, Chanyeol groans before pulling away. “Okay,” he says, cheeks flushed. “Can we go back up and just kiss all night?”  
  
“No.” Baekhyun slaps his chest. “I dressed up. Let’s go on a date,” he says, snuggling close to rest the top of his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder.  
  
“Mmmm. Let’s go a bit later,” Chanyeol says.  
  
“Okay.” Baekhyun’s reply is muffled against the fabric of Chanyeol’s hoodie.  
  
Chanyeol rests his chin on Baekhyun's head and lets out a sigh. It sounds like a contented sigh. Baekhyun closes his eyes.  
  
They stay like that for a while.


End file.
